Catching up on some stuff I missed last week, it was announced late Friday night that the Pittsburgh Steelers had fired offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. This announcement came as a bit of a surprise to most as Bicknell has generally been credited for doing a pretty good job this season. If there was ever an example of making chicken salad out of chicken shit, what Bicknell did with our crew of journeymen and underachievers was it. I can’t fathom how much more the Steelers expected from him.

That is, if he was coaching the line at all. Our old friend Ian Rappaport, through his ever-popular “anonymous team source” – who we know is just the kid in the Steely McBeam costume feeding that nobody bogus scoops – tweeted that he heard Bicknell had been stripped of all on-field duties by the end of the year. While not a single one of the crack local beat reporters bothered to report this during the season, Jerry Dulac at the P-G did mention – shortly before Rappaport broke his “news” – that he had heard offensive line assistantShaun Sarrett had taken over around mid-season. If that’s true, I guess we already know who the next O-line coach is.Continue reading »

On the heels of the Pittsburgh Steelers latest disastrous loss, the big story to emerge from the wreckage is the demotion of first round pick Jarvis Jones. It all started during the game where those unfortunate enough to have had to sit through Sunday’s fiasco saw linebackers coach Keith Butler chewing his rookie out on the sideline. Jones did not start on Sunday and at his weekly press conference, Mike Tomlin admitted that Jones has been benched in favor of Jason Worilds. His reasoning being that Jones needs to work on “the details.”

Arians’ revenge upon the team that unjustly fired him is now complete in the form of recently acquired left tackle Levi Brown. The Pittsburgh Steelers had high hopes for the former top ten pick, penciling him into their starting line-up before he even stepped foot off the plane from Arizona. So confident were they in their new left tackle that the man he replaced, inept Mike Adams, wasn’t even dressed for Sunday’s game against the Jets.

There was no Mike Tomlin press conference last week. Pity, considering how pissed Coach T appeared in the aftermath of the Pittsburgh Steelers loss to the Minnesota Vikings, I’m sure it would’ve been highly entertaining even if the questions are being furnished by the cheerleader local media. With the Penguins starting their season and the Pirates continuing to shock the baseball world, the media treated yesterday’s presser like a typical Pittsburgh sports fan: with stunning apathy.

After the Pittsburgh Steelers fell to 0-4, Coach T issued a fiery proclamation that guys would start doing their jobs or he’d find people that would. That’s all well and good but in football there isn’t a lot of wiggle room in terms of line-up changes. Your 53 man is your 53 man and other than adding a veteran free agent or promoting a guy off the practice squad, there’s not much tinkering you can do. Well, yesterday the Steelers found one other way: phone a friend.

Yesterday could arguably be considered the worst day in Pittsburgh Steelers history. First, news came down that one of the members of the storied Steel Curtain, L.C. Greenwood,had passed away at 67. Shortly thereafter, the Black and Gold blew a golden opportunity to send the game to overtime, falling to the Minnesota Vikings 34-27. The Steelers are now 0-4 for the first time in 45 years, the year before Mr. Greenwood was drafted by a rookie head coach named Chuck Noll.

Mike Tomlin is no Chuck Noll.

In fact, the only way he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the Emperor is to point out it’s become apparent our current Emperor has no clothes. No answers, either, for a season that has tragically spiraled out of control. Every week brings some fresh hell to Steeler Nation. It’s amazing how this team constantly finds new ways to lose. Continue reading »

The Pittsburgh Steelers meet the Kansas City Chiefs tonight in the all-important third exhibition preseason game. As I did last season, I beseech you, if you’re going to the game, don’t walk under any ladders. Steer clear of black cats. And if you own a rabbit’s foot, by all means bring it with you. That is, if the NFL Security Overlords permit you to smuggle it in within your regulation size purse.

The third preseason game is always a mixed blessing. It’s the most watchable game because starters usually see a good half of action in preparation for the season opener. But it’s also the scariest because within that half, you’re constantly hoping and praying none of the starters get injured. In a just world, when that half is over, everybody is healthy and ready for the regular season.

Posted by Chris at 5:10 amOffensive LineComments Off on Steelers Offensive Line Needs To Step Up Tonight

Aug192013

Tonight the Pittsburgh Steelers face the Washington Redskins in preseason game number two. Once again, those members of Steeler Nation living outside of the greatest city in the US of A will have an opportunity to watch the game live on ESPN. If there is a just and merciful God, Chris Berman will not be on the call. Leave it to the Four Letter to actually make me long for the unholy pairing of Bob Pompeani and Edmund Nelson.

There’s really not much to preview before tonight’s game. Le’Veon Bell will likely be a game-time decision. Other than that, we’ll probably see the starters play a little longer than we did last week. The first cut down to a 75 man roster doesn’t happen until after the third game so we’ll still see plenty of future used car salesmen in the second half. If nothing else, it’ll give them plenty of time to talk about Landry Jones.Continue reading »

The Pittsburgh Steelers fell to the New York Giants 18-13 in Saturday night’s preseason debut. I note the score because I love being on Twitter during these meaningless games and watching Steeler Nation freak out over such minute details. I guess such passion even for games featuring a bunch of guys who’ll be selling car insurance two weeks from now goes hand in hand with having the best fan base in all of football. Remember, people, the Detroit Lions went undefeated in the preseason before taking an O-fer the entire regular season.

With that in mind, there were some interesting storylines coming out of the game:Continue reading »

The Pittsburgh Steelers kick off their preseason against the New York Giants tonight. For those of you outside of the Steel City who are just dying to see undrafted free agents pretend to be pro ball players for a couple halves before embarking on a career selling used cars, the game will be airing on NFL Network. The red hot Pirates are in Colorado so when every player of consequence comes out by about 8:30, I’ll probably be switching the channel along with every other bandwagon jumping yinzer. Continue reading »